DC man orders TV, gets assault rifle instead

11:23 AM, Aug 10, 2012

CAMPBELLSVILLE, KY - JUNE 10: Amazon employee Troy Scott packs the the Kindle DX, Amazon's new 9.7' Wireless Reading Device for shipment at the warehouse on June 10, 2009 in Campbellsville, Kentucky. The reader can hold thousands of books and has text-to-speech capability among other features. (Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Washington musician who ordered a flat-screen TV from Amazon.com was shocked to receive a semiautomatic assault rifle instead.

Thirty-eight-year-old Seth Horvitz says he purchased the 39-inch television from a third-party seller. A box arrived from UPS on Tuesday evening, and it seemed too small to contain the TV. He says he initially thought it contained accessories.

But when he opened it, he found a Sig Sauer military-style rifle. He says he had never held a gun before he felt the trigger of the rifle.

An invoice showed that the gun was intended for delivery to a firearms dealer in Duncansville, Pa. Horvitz called police, who took the gun and are investigating how the mistaken shipment occurred. Amazon and UPS had no immediate comment.